Editor's Review

“The bill proposes to decriminalise bigamy. It doesn't make it legal to marry outside the union but a civil matter that should lead to divorce."

The Judiciary has dismissed reports that Chief Justice Martha Koome has proposed wedded persons be allowed to marry outside wedlock by repealing sections of the Penal Code. 

In a statement on Thursday, November 2, the Judiciary explained that the Chief Justice is proposing to decriminalize bigamy but it doesn’t make it legal for people to marry outside the union.

The Judiciary noted that bigamy has been in law since 1930 and there are no prosecutions that have been carried out since.

“The bill proposes to decriminalise bigamy. It doesn't make it legal to marry outside the union but a civil matter that should lead to divorce. Bigamy has been in law since 1930 with no prosecutions. It's a personal choice that can be remedied through divorce, not criminal proceedings,” the Judiciary explained.

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File image of Chief Justice Martha Koome.

The current Penal Code states that any person legally married and secretly weds outside marriage is guilty of committing a felony and faces a jail term of five years.

The clarification comes at a time when Koome has proposed a number of bills and submitted them to Parliament.

The chief justice wants individuals engaging in prostitution to be exempted from prison time and instead punished by alternative modes of handling petty offenses.

CJ Koome has also proposed a bill to reduce sentences for individuals facing life imprisonment, particularly those convicted of capital offenses to 30 years.